Review of the Codes and Standards for Noise and Vibration Investigations in Buildings

Dr. Charles DeVore and Dr. Eric Ahlberg published "Review of the Codes and Standards for Noise and Vibration Investigations in Buildings," in the Proceedings of Forensic Engineering 2015: Performance of the Built Environment.

Noise is commonly understood in a regulatory context to be unwanted sound and is regulated by municipalities to ensure public health and wellbeing. Likewise, unwanted vibrations can and are regulated by similar codes and standards.

This study will present a review of existing codes and standards related to vibrations encountered by human occupants in buildings. Review of typical noise codes will provide a comparison to existing vibration codes and standards. The regulatory goals will be discussed including minimizing human occupant discomfort and limiting structural damage. This study will conclude with discussion and recommendations for continued code and standard development to regulate unwanted vibrations in buildings.

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